Under the reign of Gary Kirsten, former coach of the Indian cricket team, the men in blue were one of the dominant force in world cricket, where they even attained the number uno ranking in Test matches and also won the prestigious ICC World Cup in 2011. His immediate successor, Duncan Fletcher has not been enjoying a good run with the current Indian team, where many have questioned the former Englishmen as an Indian coach as well, where fingers are pointed towards Fletcher for the dismal performance of the Indian team.

ANSHUMAN GAEKWAD, former Indian coach told this citizen journalist , “Nobody should be blamed, not the captain nor the coach but all the players should be blamed - none of the Indian players are performing.” It was Gary Kirsten who had recommended Fletcher for the coveted position of the Indian cricket team coach.

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Another former Indian cricketer, Karsan Ghavri, also feels the same as Gaekwad, as he maintains that the coach can only help the players outside the boundary line and it is the player's performance in the middle that counts. Things are beyond the control of a coach, once the player sets their foot on the green turf during match hours, as they are on their own. It is not a game like basketball, where there is rolling substitution, which helps the coach talk to the player when he is not taking part in the game.

But, one has to understand that there are a number of things that the coach is capable of during practise hours, which would help the players tremendously. A simple hands on the shoulder of the player who has been in poor form and chatting to him can help the player regain confidence. But, from outside, as it seems that the silent coach has failed to lift the team, where they are going through a tough phase.

Ghavri said, “As a cricket coach, he (Duncan Fletcher) can play a bigger role both on and off the field by motivating the players and lending confidence to those players who has not played well.”But his track record while coaching the English team has been way better and Ghavri also considers the current Indian coach to be one of the best coaches in the world.

It has been one and half years that Duncan Fletcher has taken over the coaching mantel of the Indian team and the results do not draw a good picture of the Englishmen. When Ghavri was asked, if Fletcher should be sacked he said, “It is not required. Even the coaches need time to settle down. We need to give him more time.” The Indian cricket team has seen a number of changes in the past and most of them have been foreign coaches, namely John Wright, Greg Chappell, Gary Kirsten and the latest being Duncan Fletcher. Gaekwad maintains that, “Foreign coaches will take longer time to understand the players of the team”

There has always been the debate of a foreigner coach or an Indian coach, but it is the BCCI, who takes the final call. With Anshuman Gaekwad having one of the best records as an Indian coach, he himself does not mind helping the Indian team if he is called upon.